Return to Transcripts main page
Lou Dobbs Tonight
Tornado Terror Strikes Boy Scout Camp; Midwest Floods hit Great Lakes Region; Supreme Court Ruling; Failing FDA; Homeland Insecurity
Aired June 12, 2008 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, HOST: Thank you.
Tonight, courage and survival after a tornado rips into a boy scout camp in Iowa. Four teenagers were killed. We'll have complete coverage here tonight.
Also a stunning new example of our federal government's bungling and incompetence this time on the issue of port security, we'll have that special report.
And tonight the Supreme Court ruling that suspected terrorists at Guantanamo have the constitutional right to challenge their detention in federal court. We'll examine the legal and military effect of this ruling. All of that, all the day's news and much more here from an independent perspective, straight ahead tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: news, debate, and opinion for Thursday, June 12. Live from New York, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.
The Midwest tonight bracing for more severe weather after a tornado killed four teenagers and injured nearly 50 people in a boy scout camp in Iowa. One official there said the tornado struck the camp like a bowling ball.
Iowa's governor praising the scouts for organizing their own rescue and first aid teams before emergency workers arrived. That tornado touched down as much of eastern Iowa and other parts of the Midwest were struggling to deal with severe flooding.
We have extensive coverage tonight beginning with Dan Simon with the latest on the Scout camp tragedy in Blencoe, Iowa -- Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lou.
This storm came in so fast, within a few seconds that whole camp was entirely leveled. You had four people dead. As you said, about 50 people injured, I talked to a few Scouts today.
Many tried to go into shelters. Those that were not in shelters were actually going out on a hike. They tried to get into some ditches to try to get some protection, but those who were in shelters, they took cover, but there was nothing they could do.
Like I said, within seconds, those buildings just basically imploded. That's the way they described it. They describe it as whiteout conditions. There was one teenager I talked to; it was like he was lifted into the sky.
He said he went up several feet then came back down. It was amazing that he actually survived. Lou, as you alluded to these boys actually had some very good training to deal with this situation. Just a day before this tornado struck, they actually went through an emergency scenario that actually helped.
It taught them where to go in the event of an emergency. So in terms of being prepared for a situation like this, the Boy Scouts a good group to actually go through a tornado, if I can put it that way, because they had first aid training, they had CPR training, so better equipped than probably most people that deal with a crisis like this, Lou.
DOBBS: Outstanding young people, an example to us all.
Thank you very much -- Dan Simon.
This tornado season is already the deadliest in a decade. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration telling us there have been 118 tornado-related deaths so far this year and we're only half way through the tornado season.
NOAA also reporting there have been 1,577 reported tornados since the season began in late winter. The officials say on average there are 1,200 tornadoes and 60 tornado-related deaths each year.
Since 1974, there have been more than 100 deaths in only two other years, 1998 and 1984. Well the boy scouts who survived that tornado in Iowa said that the storm ripped through their camp in less than 10 seconds. One Scout leader said the quick response of the survivors to that tragedy illustrated the very best traditions of Scouting.
That leader saying the boy scouts motto is be prepared and the Scouts certainly were.
Lisa Sylvester has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They had only seconds to react.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY SCOUT, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Door kicked in, roof picked up, the walls started going.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY SCOUT, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I remember I grabbed a kid by the neck, threw him in a shelter and closed the door.
SYLVESTER: Brave Scouts their training and quick thinking are credited with saving lives, fulfilling their Boy Scouts motto, be prepared. UNIDENTIFIED BOY SCOUT, TORNADO SURVIVOR: A bunch of us we got together and started undoing the rubble from the fireplace and stuff, and pulling kids out, and waiting for the first responders.
SYLVESTER: When the twister hit, some shielded other Scouts to protect them. Afterward, they applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding and treated broken bones.
GOV. CHET CULVER (D), IOWA: They were the real heroes, these young men, these camp directors and these youth counselors and others, that literally saved lives during this time period when emergency management could not get to them.
SYLVESTER: It's what Boy Scouts do best, showing leadership and cultivating character and civic duty. The organization was incorporated in 1910 and has since helped shape numerous political and community leaders, including Presidents John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and movie producer Steven Spielberg.
These boy scouts, in fact, were there for leadership training and had practiced emergency drills only the day before.
CULVER: They helped their Scouts in need of medical assistance. They essentially set up their own little triage unit, very inspiring. It's not a surprise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: Now the Scout's oath calls on these boys and young people to help other people at all tames. Keep physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. That oath was kept when the tornado hit. Lou?
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Lisa. Inspiring story.
Lisa Sylvester from Washington.
Well tonight there are still severe weather conditions throughout the Midwest. The entire Great Lakes region remains at risk from tornados with tornado watches issued all the way from Wichita, Kansas to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
There were more than 50 tornado reports from Kansas to southern Minnesota last night. Two people were killed by tornadoes in northeastern Kansas. Kansas State University was the site of a number of injuries and an estimated $20 million in damages.
More than 120 houses were damaged or destroyed in nearby areas and floods are also of course devastating parts of the Midwest. The worst conditions in southern Wisconsin through eastern Iowa and down the Mississippi River along the Missouri/Illinois border.
Some bridges crossing the Mississippi tonight are closed. There are mandatory evacuations in effect tonight in Cedar rapids, Iowa. More than 10,000 people have been moved to safety. A 150-foot breach in a levee flooded the city. Streets are under water. Cars have been washed away. Businesses, some of them entirely flooded. The Cedar River is expected to crest nine feet above its record. That will be the first time that a record has been broken in nine years.
That flooding in the Midwest is having a devastating effect on many people, among them farmers. Many fields have been flooded, crops destroyed, and that's raising concerns about higher food prices for Americans who are already paying higher food prices.
Susan Roesgen has now a special report from one flooded farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A gentle breeze blows across Jerry Bradley's (ph) farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, but what looks like a pond in the distance is really acres and acres of his crop under water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the worst. Dad and I were driving around the other day. This is the worst ever.
ROESGEN: The Bradley family has farmed this land for 150 years soy beans and corn, but this year they can't even get into the fields to spray the weeds. The ground is so soft from all the rain that the tractors would sink and what's the point when a quarter of his crop has already drowned.
JERRY BRADLEY, WISCONSIN FARMER: The ones underwater are dead, they're gone. Anything that's under water that you see if it's over 24 hours, it's dead. It will not survive.
ROESGEN: Across the Midwest, it's much the same. Flooded fields means a smaller harvest, which will mean even higher food prices for the rest of us. Who knows how much higher?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until you roll that harvester across the field, you don't have a clue. It is what it is. You can't control the weather. You can try and control the other elements, but you can't control the weather.
ROESGEN: There's only one solution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hot weather, you know wind, sunshine, stop raining.
ROESGEN: And unless it does stop raining and soon, the farmer's troubles this summer may be yours before the year is out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And as the rain continues to come down here tonight, Lou, we already know that corn futures are at a record high price. The price of soy bean oil is at a record as well. And as you know, Lou, the price of diesel fuel, if they ever can bring those tractors out here to these soggy fields, the price of diesel fuel has tripled in the last three years -- Lou.
DOBBS: And the price of fertilizer for those fields and those crops being devastated has already risen in lock step with the price of crude oil, $7 a bushel for corn, this is a very, very tough summer not only in the Midwest where you are, Susan of course, but in grocery stores across the country.
Susan Roesgen, thank you very much.
Extreme weather of a very different kind threatening now parts of California, hundreds of firefighters are struggling there trying to control wildfires in northern California, particularly in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Those fires have forced hundreds of people now to leave their homes.
Firefighters say the weather is becoming hotter and dryer and that of course is making their task even more difficult as they try to control these blazes. Governor Schwarzenegger today declared a state of emergency in Santa Cruz County.
Earlier the California governor also declared a drought throughout the entire state. This is the first time that's happened in 17 years. Some communities are already rationing water in California. This is straightforwardly the driest spring in California in nearly 90 years.
The National Weather Service tells us it doesn't expect any improvement in the Western part of the country because the dry season is only now beginning. Southern Texas also under severe drought conditions, the entire Southwestern fact (ph) is experiencing varying degrees of drought, a disaster for many farmers and communities and this is a drought that some have estimated to be part of a 500-year drought.
Turning now to political disasters, the Supreme Court today dealt a major blow to the Bush administration strategy against radical Islamist terrorists. The justices in a 5-4 vote ruled that suspected terrorists being held in Guantanamo have the constitutional right to challenge their detentions in federal court.
The dissenting justices including Chief Justice John Roberts said, "the nation will live to regret what the court has done today."
Kelli Arena has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're being held on foreign soil, they're not U.S. citizens. But today, the Supreme Court ruled that detainees held at Guantanamo do have rights under the U.S. Constitution because they're in U.S. custody. It's a major defeat for the Bush administration.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Will abide by the Court's decision. That doesn't mean I have to agree with it.
ARENA: The Court ruled 5-4 that foreign fighters and accused terrorists at Gitmo can contest their detention in civilian courts. It also ruled the Bush administration's procedures to classify those detained as enemy combatants is inadequate. Pentagon defense lawyers declared victory.
MICHAEL BERRIGAN, DEFENSE COUNSEL: It's a great day for the rule of law and vindication for American principles of justice.
ARENA: Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority said "the laws and Constitution are designed to survive and remain in force in extraordinary times." But Justice Antonin Scalia shot back saying "the ruling warps our Constitution and warned the national will live to regret what the Court has done today." Like Scalia, some worry about the implications.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Al Qaeda will be given the same rights as an American citizen. Something we didn't do for the Nazis.
ARENA: The administration opened the detention facility in Cuba shortly after 9/11 to hold people suspected of having ties to al Qaeda or the Taliban.
CULLY STIMSON, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL: There was a belief it would not be subject to the reach of the federal district court.
ARENA: There are only about 270 men still there, most have never been charged. Justices here in Washington, D.C. are bracing for a flood of legal challenges. What's more this decision casts doubt on the future of the military war crimes trials.
Pentagon intends to try about 80 detainees and one is already planning an immediate challenge. Lawyers for Salim Hamdan, an alleged driver for Osama bin Laden, say that they will file to have the charges against him dismissed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Lou, if you think that this Supreme Court decision is a definitive word on this issue, think again. President Bush is already talking about new legislation -- back to you.
DOBBS: And legislation has been enacted twice over the course of the past four years to try to avoid precisely the position in which the Bush administration and the U.S. government finds itself tonight.
Kelli, thank you very much.
Kelli Arena reporting from Washington.
We'll have much more on today's Supreme Court ruling and its implications here later in the broadcast. I'll be talking with a constitutional lawyer and a distinguished former military commander on their views on the impact of this ruling today by the Supreme Court. We'll also have more for you on the flooding that is devastating huge parts of the Midwest. A National Guard commander leading emergency management operations joins us.
And the deadly salmonella outbreak in tomatoes has spread. More people have been sickened and the FDA says it still doesn't know the source of the outbreak.
Is it really trying to determine the source and publicize the source of this outbreak?
We'll examine that as well here next.
Stay with us. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The salmonella outbreak has spread further. The government now reporting one death associated with salmonella and 61 new cases in six more states. More than 220 cases of salmonella have now been reported since April.
Health officials still are not certain whether all of the contaminated tomatoes are off the market yet. Twenty-three states have reported cases of salmonella poisoning and the Food and Drug Administration tonight apparently no closer to disclosing the source of that outbreak.
And as Louise Schiavone reports, it was one year ago today that the FDA launched what it called a tomato safety initiative to prevent just exactly this kind of outbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Centers for Disease Control is reporting dozens more confirmed illnesses linked to tainted tomatoes. A total of 228 illnesses with 25 hospitalizations now in 23 states, that's six new states. One death has been associated with the outbreak and it's not over yet.
VOICE OF DR. IAN WILLIAMS, CHIEF, OUTBREAKNET TEAM, CDC: We would this outbreak is ongoing.
SCHIAVONE: Not only are there no answers about the source of contamination from the Food and Drug Administration...
VOICE OF DR. DAVID ACHESON, ASSOC., COMMISSIONER FOR FOODS, FDA: It is possible that we may not know, but the same is true of any outbreak.
SCHIAVONE: The Government Accountability Office charges that with 80 percent of the nation's food supply at stake, the FDA seems incapable of explaining how it will execute a recently unveiled food safety plan.
LISA SHANES, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE: FDA has implemented few of our past food safety related recommendations. Of the 34 recommendations we made since 2004, FDA has fully implemented seven.
SCHIAVONE: The verdict from lawmakers who have been pressing FDA to meet their obligations...
REP. JOHN DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: To have Food and Drug come up and say they don't know what to do about it or how much money they need or what resources they require is a shame and a disgrace.
SCHIAVONE: On Capitol Hill, the government's food czar reported that for now there are no tools in place to track the origin of the latest salmonella outbreak.
ACHESON: Most people when they consume a tomato just know they consumed a tomato. They don't know where it came from and by the time somebody...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think consumers don't know where their food comes from if it's labeled?
ACHESON: Well let me ask you a question, if I may.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. Sure.
ACHESON: If you've eaten a tomato in the last week, do you know where it came from?
REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: No, because you won't implement country of origin labeling.
SCHIAVONE: Mexico sends 80 percent of its tomato crop to the U.S. and while Mexico has not been cleared by the FDA, officials say they cannot say that Mexico is the source of the problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: Lou, the FDA says it's been in touch with Mexico but has not sent investigators over the border or to any farms for that matter because they are not yet able to pinpoint the place that the bad crop came from.
DOBBS: At this point, would we all be forgiven if we thought the FDA was being led by just really a pack of baboons and fools? To hear David Acheson respond to Congressman Stupak with that arrogant nonsense, I mean, what is going on? Why is this administration, why is this agency being permitted to behave and conduct itself like abject idiots?
SCHIAVONE: They really are cornered and all of the people in Congress, Democrats and Republicans have confronted them about this, but just because they're being confronted, just because they're cornered doesn't mean they have the answers and they don't have the answers because they don't have the infrastructure to give the answers. DOBBS: Which they have refused to build up over the course of the past seven and a half years. A number of statistics: One third of the tomatoes consumed in this country now are imported.
SCHIAVONE: That's right.
DOBBS: Eighty-three percent of those tomato imports come from Mexico.
SCHIAVONE: Mexico.
DOBBS: Therefore, does the FDA have any idea what percentage of the tomatoes that have been -- that have not been cleared originate from Mexico? But that seems to be the real issue. Mexico and Central Florida, why can't this agency, even though it's run by some of the biggest Neanderthals ever imaginable at the head of an agency, why can't they answer those straightforward questions?
SCHIAVONE: We know from our research that the predominance of the crop that was consumed in the United States for the months of April and May came principally from Mexico and Florida. Now the FDA was asked during a conference call late this afternoon why not just say you're looking at Mexico? And they have said well we're not going to say that Mexico is guilty until we know for a fact.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHIAVONE: They have...
DOBBS: Just ask them to say they're guilty. If you know that the preponderance of a crop comes from Mexico, what idiot would not go down and inspect those crops. They did the same thing in Florida, because Florida is the other largest producer. And they put investigators there.
Why would they not do the same thing in Mexico?
SCHIAVONE: They say they have been this touch with them, they have exchanges of information, but they have not crossed the border yet. I asked them is this a diplomatic issue and they said, oh no there is no...
DOBBS: A diplomatic issue when Americans are being sickened and one has died. This administration, this president, this Congress, to tolerate this -- I mean I don't know what in the world the American people are supposed to do. This is just sheer dereliction of duty.
It is unconscionable. We're talking about American lives here.
So, thank you. Keep on it; go get them. Thanks, Louise Schiavone. Appreciate it.
Well Mexico tonight is complaining that the FDA's warnings about tomatoes is unjustly harming the Mexican tomato industry. The Mexican Department of Agriculture issued a statement today saying quote, "The FDA's unjust action is causing severe damage to Mexico's tomato industry, which provides thousands of jobs."
The FDA so far has ruled out seven countries that export tomatoes to the United States as the source of this outbreak. As I said, 83 percent of the tomatoes imported into this country originate in Mexico. But the government says it can't rule Mexico out as a source of the outbreak nor can it in any way remove it as a possible origin of the outbreak. And we will continue to follow the story as best we can.
Tonight's poll question is: Do you believe the FDA is intentionally failing to disclose and to release the source of these contaminated tomatoes?
Yes or no? Cast your votes at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results here later in the broadcast. We'd love to hear from you on this issue.
The Food and Drug Administration tonight is also warning about silver dental fillings. The FDA is now warning that those fillings containing mercury could be harmful for pregnant women and young children. Mercury can cause neurological damage in developing brains. The government says it is still studying the effects of mercury poisoning from fillings and is not recommending removing existing fillings. We'll keep you up to date on that new development as well.
Up next here, our ports remain at risk. The Bush administration has refused to do anything to protect them and to inspect more than five percent of the cargo entering the country.
Deadly weather ripping through parts of the country, as we've reported here more violent weather is on the way, we'll take you live to the CNN Weather Center next for the latest warnings.
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Well, this just in, the National Highway Safety Administration, another recall of dangerous products manufactured in communist China, this time six million valve stems on automobile tires. The National Highway Safety Administration reporting that TEC International (ph), the U.S. distributor, has agreed to recall these parts.
TEC International saying those stems could crack and the tires could eventually lose pressure, possibly causing a crash. The distributor also said there is no way to track the end users of the valve stems. Again this alert coming out from the National Highway Safety Administration, six million valve stems and at this point we do not have the names of those tires, the brands. And we will try to have those for you as developments come through here tonight. We'll try to have that in the next 10 to 15 minutes for you.
New developments as well in the fight over that huge Air Force tanker contract and the battle stop the outsourcing of jobs and our national security. Boeing tonight saying the U.S. Air Force has admitted that Boeing's bid for the contract was lower than the bid from its European rival, EADS, the consortium, the European consortium that manufactures the Airbus.
And Airbus of course partnering with Northop Grumman on this tanker aircraft bid. Boeing for its part says that the 767 tanker is cheaper over the long term and Airbus is proposing that its KC-30 tanker aircraft be used for this contract.
The deal worth at least $35 billion, and the Air Force tonight saying it stands by its decision to buy the European tanker. The General Accountability Office is due to deliver a report on this contract next week after a 100-day review.
Well the Bush administration today admitted to Congress that inspecting all the cargo entering our nation's ports is as they put it virtually impossible. In fact, now almost seven years after September 11, only 5 percent of all the cargo coming in to this country through our ports is being inspected.
Bill Tucker has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Only about one out of 20 of these containers is likely to have been inspected. By 2012, Congress has mandated that every container bound to the United States be scanned for nuclear and radiological threats, but when administration officials were asked during a Senate subcommittee hearing looking at port security if that was going happen by that date, this was the answer.
JAYSON AHERN, U.S. CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION: I would submit to you that's not a wise investment for taxpayers' dollars. I don't believe 100 percent scanning would equal 100 percent security.
TUCKER: When pressed it that could even be done in four years time...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not with the current technology, not with the economics involved with this.
TUCKER: No can do seemed to be the theme of the day.
SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: Three of the world's four largest marine terminal operators have indicated on their own that they're going to begin to scan all cargo through their facility. They're waiting for the administration to set performance standards for the scanning equipment this Congress required in the 2006 Safe Port Act. When will these technological performance standards be put if place?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I don't know when those dams (ph) will be placed. I think it is very important to have those standards.
TUCKER: The officials told the committee the technology doesn't exist and that the money spent on port security is nowhere near enough. They also warn that claims of 100 percent scanning should be met with some the skepticism, noting a demonstration in Hong Kong four years ago that claimed to be scanning everything.
JAYSON AHERN, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: There was scanning. They were just running containers through X-ray and radiation portal (ph) monitors with no regard for the quality of the image or any resolution of the image that was occurring through this demonstration project through industry.
TUCKER: And no one was watching the machines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: And then there was this warning of sorts, Lou, from Customs and Border Protection. They noted they have received complaints from 27 countries, nine trade associations, two international associations. All of whom said if the United States continues to insist that every cargo bound for this country is scanned, they are going to want reciprocity, Lou, and every cargo going out of this country to their country they will want scanned as well -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, there doesn't seem to be much likelihood that that would occur, because now really now seven years after September 11th, 95 percent of the cargo remains uninspected, our borders remain wide open, and what we call the Department of Homeland Security is clearly established as an absolute sham.
This is a disgusting, disgusting strategy, approach, and response on the part of an administration that is deaf, dumb and blind when it comes to issues of homeland security. Any indication of what this Congress is going to do about it, if anything?
TUCKER: No. But, we know, Lou, I mean, Senator Lautenberg was obviously irritated and aggravated. But he's talking to two men seven years after 9/11, four years away from the deadline, all of whom were saying, no, we can't do it, we haven't done it, and it isn't going be done.
And there was no indication that the senator was...
DOBBS: Much the same...
TUCKER: ...going to do anything.
DOBBS: Or whether or not Senator Lautenberg could do much more than bring it to the public's attention again. So the ports are in precisely the same position as our borders. Thank you very much, Bill Tucker, reporting.
Well, the program to provide over a million port workers with secure identification cards, well, that program isn't doing so well either, facing another delay. There are only 12 machines that print these cards. And according to Congressman Bennie Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, eight of those machines are broken. That would be 75 percent by my calculation. The Transportation Security Administration confirmed the breakdown. But a spokesman said the machines should be back on-line by the end of this week, and the delay, they said, shouldn't affect their ability to provide the identification cards. The compliance date for these secure ID cards has already been delayed from September of this year to April of next year. Your government at work.
Up next, floods devastating huge parts of the Midwest. The leader of one state's emergency management operations joins us.
And the amnesty lobby and open borders groups trying to overturn Arizona's law that targets the illegal employers of illegal aliens. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is visibly upset.
And the silliness and nonsense continues on the campaign trail. Did I mention pettiness? We'll have a special report tonight on the candidates' failure to come up with any new policy prescriptions, any original ideas and their embrace of old rhetoric.
Stay with us, we're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Survivors of that deadly tornado at a Boy Scout camp in Iowa today described how they rescued trapped teenagers and gave other scouts first aid. The tornado killed four teenagers in that camp in Little Sioux, Iowa. Nearly 50 people were injured.
The Supreme Court today, in another news development, ruling by a 5-4 margin to give constitutional rights to suspected terrorists being held in Guantanamo. This ruling suspects the right to challenge their detention in our federal courts. We'll be examining the military and legal implications of the Supreme Court decision here later in the broadcast.
And the crisis over the tomato salmonella outbreak is worsening. And no one apparently knows still, or is disclosing the source of this outbreak. Officials say that one person has died, more than 220 people have been sickened. The salmonella outbreak has spread now to 23 states.
Congressman Ron Paul tonight announcing he'll end his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, suspending his campaign. A Paul spokesman said he would make that announcement at rally to be held in Houston. The end of Paul's campaign will have no real effect on the Republican presidential race. Senator John McCain locked up the nomination in March. Paul is not expected to endorse McCain. So he will hold tight to his 23 delegates.
The sniping between the two presidential candidates today escalated. Senator McCain blasting Senator Obama's vice presidential team choices. Senator Obama hit back over a member of Senator McCain's vice presidential team -- the search team. The general election campaign so far pretty much just a display of petty politics instead of a discussion of the critical issues that we were sort of expecting from these two candidates. Dana Bash has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not even 24 hours after the head of Barack Obama's vice presidential search team quit over questionable business practices, John McCain, not so subtly launched at a new target, Eric Holder, another Obama V.P. vetter, a former Justice Department official who gave the green light for a Bill Clinton controversy in the final hours of his presidency: pardoning fugitive financier Marc Rich.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. Holder recommended the pardoning of Mr. Rich. And all of those things will be taken into consideration by the media and the American people.
BASH: The Obama campaign shot back that A.B. Culvahouse, who is helping McCain pick his running mate, is "a prominent D.C. lobbyist who served as the Reagan administration's point man on the Iran-Contra scandal."
It's the latest in an escalating to and fro, both candidates trying to prove the other isn't a real reformer because of the company he keeps. Camp Obama has been pounding away way at McCain's team for months, especially two former top lobbyists who help run his campaign. But this war on each other's advisers is at odds with how both candidates promised the races would be run.
MCCAIN: I have pledged to conduct a respectful campaign.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said that I was looking forward to a civil, substantive debate on the issues.
BASH: Ironically, in the very same press conference that he raised questions about Eric Holder, Obama's adviser, McCain decried the back and fourth, sound bites taken out of context, and renewed his call for a debate on the issues with joint town hall meetings.
MCCAIN: This is why we need town hall meetings. This is why we need to go to the American people and stand before them and have them ask the questions and us give the answers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: McCain went on the hold his own town hall meeting this afternoon in his favorite stomping ground of New Hampshire where he did talk about a host of issues from the gas tax holiday to, of course, the war in Iraq. And, Lou, you know, he had hoped tonight would be the first time that he and Barack Obama could share a stage in a joint town hall. But the McCain campaign says they still have not heard become from the Obama campaign about that proposal.
DOBBS: You know, as you report, this has descended in point of fact, to a level of pettiness that's becoming some of a standard for the campaign as each day goes by. But irrespective of the partisan view of anyone or their ideological standing, Senator McCain has set forth a rational and appropriate proposal.
And that is, those town hall meetings, those men meeting face to face, head on, with a group of citizens to ask those questions and to find out how these two men who say they're qualified and appropriate leaders for the greatest country on the face of the earth, it would be a wonderful venue. Why is there no response from the Obama campaign? Why isn't it happening?
BASH: I don't know the answer to that question. It's a very good question. I mean, the reality is there's probably more going on behind the scenes than we know about, because I think these campaigns are sophisticated enough to think, you know, if there's a possibly it's going to happen, they don't want to tell us about it first. But the reality also...
DOBBS: If this is an example of sophisticated, Obama and McCain, this country is in a lot more trouble than I think it is. Because there's nothing sophisticated about the pettiness that they've descended to.
And this is really an insult to the American people. These two candidates think that the American people are dumb enough to buy the nonsense they're peddling right now. I mean, it's pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
BASH: Well, the interesting thing is that when you follow them around, like I've followed Senator McCain, he does have a chance because he does town hall meetings. And Barack Obama does too. He does have a chance to talk about the issues. And he is asked about the issues by voters.
But it would be obviously a very unique thing to have both of them on the same stage to do it together.
DOBBS: You know, and I would just like to do just one part of it. I would just like to do the follow-up questions during these town hall meetings. Thanks very...
BASH: As long as they come to New Jersey. You have to be a voter.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Thanks, Dana. Dana Bash.
Well, coming up here next, the Supreme Court ruling in favor of detainees at Guantanamo. We'll examine the legal and military implications and consequences.
And assessing the damage caused by those massive floods in southern Wisconsin. We'll be talking with the commander of that state's National Guard here next. Stay with us. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: A political disaster of sorts today. The Supreme Court ruling in favor of giving constitutional rights to suspected terrorists in Guantanamo. The justices voting narrowly in favor of granting those rights. The vote 5-4. Joining me now to discuss the military, legal implications, and consequences of the decision, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT military analyst General David Grange.
Good to have you with us.
And one of the country's leading authorities on our Constitution, Professor Richard Pildes. He is professor of constitutional law at New York University.
And, Professor, good to have you here.
RICHARD PILDES, PROFESSOR, NYU: Thanks, Lou, good to be here.
DOBBS: Let's start with, if I may, the military here. General Grange, what will this do to the U.S. military? What are your concerns tonight?
GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think some of the concerns may be when you turn over an enemy combatant on the battlefield, what's going to happen with that particular prisoner? Right now if the constitutional rights are given to everyone besides American citizens and they have a right to a trial before interrogation, and information is the brought out from those prisoners, it may cause some confusion.
And so I think there are some implications there.
DOBBS: And, Professor, on a legal basis, does this take the umbrella of the Constitution to new limits?
PILDES: I would say the decision is definitely unprecedented. But I think the Supreme Court is also reacting to a situation it views as unprecedented. That Guantanamo has now existed for six years, the court has been made aware that this looks like it could go on for a long, maybe indefinite period of time. And so at this stage, they're stepping in.
But contrary to what the general said, the court's decision doesn't mean that the courts are going to jump in right way once people are captured and detained. The court clearly will give the government, the executive time to hold people.
What the court's decision says is after this amount of time, there has to be some federal judge who can judge the decision of whether this the person really is a soldier for al Qaeda or a soldier for the Taliban. It's just too long to hold people indefinitely with no oversight.
DOBBS: I'm not going to speak for the general, but I've got to believe he is shuddering as you use the term "soldier," because these are not soldiers, these are terrorists. Does that give you pause?
PILDES: Well, I'm trying to make it explainable to people who understand a conventional war. So if we had a German soldier during World War II, we would detain them for the course of the war. But this has already gone on longer than World War II. And what the court is saying is that people we think are terrorists, people we think are enemy soldiers, or enemy combatants, there has to be a federal judge who at least looks at the evidence to see if that's in fact a correct judgment.
DOBBS: Are you in any way mollified here, General?
GRANGE: Well, it's a different kind of war. And the war is not going to end anytime soon. I don't think that the military that works, for instance, in Guantanamo Bay wants to keep these detainees longer than they have to.
But some of the information I know is classified. I know that some of them that are released too early go back on the battlefield and re-fight American and other coalition forces. I think that they want to charge them, if they can, and they want to get a ruling. But some of it does take time. But so does counterinsurgencies. And so does the war against terrorist organizations, which is going to be here for some time.
DOBBS: From a legal perspective, your response to the general's concerns which as he correctly, it seems to me, states -- I mean, we are definitely in a different kind of war.
PILDES: I think that the general's concerns are clearly right. And the significance of this decision is going to depend on how much common sense, practical judgment the district judges bring to their role. Are they going to listen to evidence properly, are they going to understand the difficulty of proving whether someone is an enemy combatant or not?
It's now in the hands of the federal district judges to exercise some common sense, good legal judgment. And that's when we're going find out whether this decision has monumental consequences or fairly minimal, more symbolic consequences.
DOBBS: General, you get the last word here.
GRANGE: Well, over 500 have been released. They have about, what, 270 still in captivity. I think they'll want to expedite the process. I think when they can do that, they'll try to do it. But the decision has been made. And so, obviously the military will follow their orders.
DOBBS: All right. Thank you very much, General Grange, good to have you with us.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
DOBBS: Professor Pildes, thank you.
Coming up at the top of the hour, the "ELECTION CENTER" and Campbell Brown.
Campbell, tell us all about it. CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Lou, in the "ELECTION CENTER" tonight we have some new developments in a story we've been following all day. Get this, CNN has discovered that after Hurricane Katrina, the federal government stockpiled tens of millions of dollars worth of essential household supplies to give away to storm victims. Instead of handing it over to those still in need, FEMA somehow decided that the items were surplus and gave them all away. We've been in touch with Louisiana officials and we're going have the very latest on that in the "ELECTION CENTER."
Also, Michelle Obama now under political attack. We'll talk about that and we will have the very latest on the storms developing as well -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Campbell Brown.
Up next here, record-breaking floods causing destruction across Wisconsin and many parts of the Midwest. There are more storms on the way tonight. I'll be talking with the commander of Wisconsin's National Guard here next. Stay with us, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: State and federal officials are assessing the damage today caused by the severe weather in southern Wisconsin. A live look now at our radar map showing heavy rain in that region, a heavily flooded region.
Brigadier General Don Dunbar of Wisconsin's National Guard has been touring the counties, assessing the damage, and joins us from Prairie, Wisconsin.
General, first of all, is it raining where you are right now?
BRIG. GEN. DON DUNBAR, ADJUTANT GENERAL OF WISCONSIN: Yes, it is, Lou. We have a series of storms moving through Dane County, where I'm standing. Working its way out to the southern part of Wisconsin, southeast out towards Lake Michigan.
DOBBS: Give us your best assessment of the damage that you've seen and put it into some context for us if you will.
DUNBAR: Well, Lou, this is simply as bad as it has been in Wisconsin. All throughout the southern part of Wisconsin, 30 counties, the governor has declared as a state of emergency. Widespread flooding. We have numerous -- our roads are closed either due to water, danger to the bridges, mudslides.
We've had several tornadoes hit, just in fact in the last hour here in Wisconsin. We've done some wide scale evacuations and we've had a number of our dams under stress here in Wisconsin.
So we had a good day yesterday, got a little bit of drying out. But this latest storm front moving through is just putting a lot of pressure on an already soggy state. DOBBS: The property damage there is just so obvious, whether farms or communities. Do you feel that you're getting enough support from the federal government right now? Thirty counties, Governor Doyle has declared emergency, as you say. How much federal help can you -- would you like? How much help can it really be?
DUNBAR: Well, Lou, as you know, we're still in the response phase of this particular storm system. And we're getting excellent support from our partners at FEMA. The governor has been in contact personally with the president of the United States, with the director of Department of Homeland Security.
We have the administrator of FEMA flying out here Saturday morning to take a firsthand look himself. We had FEMA in our emergency operations center on Saturday when these storms started, when we declared a state of readiness for our emergency operations center. And they've been here all along.
And we just had the teams arrive last night to start doing damage assessment in five select counties which we think have been the hardest hit so far. And that will continue throughout the 30 counties as we move forward. And we anticipate getting a letter from the governor as soon as possible to the president seeking a declaration.
The important thing here is that FEMA and the governor of Wisconsin and all of state agencies have the same goal, to get the support to the people of Wisconsin as soon as possible.
DOBBS: General, let me ask you, and I know this is a difficult if not impossible question to answer. But do you have a sense as to whether or not this flooding is going ease over the next few days? That is, are we expecting weather to improve to the point that the flooding could ebb?
DUNBAR: Well, the forecast shows improvement over the weekend, Lou, and we certainly hope that that is true. And what we need is some sunshine and some wind to start drying this out, and then to start the assessment process and the long recovery process.
DOBBS: Well, General, we thank you for taking time, we know you're very busy, and we do appreciate your time in updating us here, General Don Dunbar, the Wisconsin National Guard.
DUNBAR: Thank you, sir.
DOBBS: And for all the folks in Wisconsin, we'll hope that that the weather forecast holds up. Thank you.
Up next here, Arizona's tough crackdown on illegal alien employment is being challenged in court. We'll have that story, stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco today heard a challenge to the Arizona law that penalizes businesses that hire illegal aliens. The appeal, the work of an alliance of open borders advocates, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
And Casey Wian has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Maricopa County authorities this week arrested nine employees at two Arizona water parks after a four-month investigation into the suspected employment of illegal aliens.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ: We're looking at over 143 more employees to see if there's any violations of the employer- sanction or fraud charges.
ANDREW THOMAS, MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY: I do want to make it clear that we're not just looking at the employees, we're looking at the employer, we're looking at the business and we will see where the evidence leads us.
WIAN: It's the first time officials have acted to enforce Arizona's new law penalizing businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens by either suspending or revoking their business licenses.
ANNIE LOYD (I), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: This is completely unacceptable and has to be put to an end.
WIAN: Though the law took effect January 1, prosecutors delayed enforcement because of a lawsuit now before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Arizona business and Hispanic lobbying groups argue that only the federal government has the authority to enforce immigration law. But supporters say a 1986 federal law grants that authority to state and local governments when it comes to business licensing issues.
KRIS KOBACH, CONSULTING ATTORNEY TO STATE OF ARIZ.: When Arizona wins in front of the 9th Circuit, which I'm cautiously optimistic will happen, that is going to send another green light to the states that these are permitted actions that states can take.
WIAN: The company that owns the targeted water parks says it is in compliance with the Arizona's Employers Sanctions Law.
DAVE JOHNSON, GOLFLAND SPOKESPERSON: We are happy to comply with their requests; we're happy to help them in their investigation so that they can get the answers they need. And we think it will come to a satisfactory conclusion.
WIAN: Though it's unclear when the court will rule, proponents of the law say it has already had a satisfactory effect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: That's because more Arizona businesses are using the federal government's E-Verify program to check the status of their employees, and a growing number of illegal aliens are simply leaving the state, Lou. DOBBS: It should be very clear, let's make no mistake about it, in my opinion, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has put itself on the side of lawlessness and it's really without question an insult to those who would expect more of our corporate citizens as represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Absolutely a disgusting and disgraceful position taken by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce when they could be availing themselves and their members of the E-Verify system without any, any difficulty whatsoever.
Thank you very much, Casey Wian.
And the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, cautiously optimistic. An extremely liberal court, the most liberal appellate court in the nation. Still, people are cautiously optimistic.
WIAN: They say they have got the law on their side and legal precedent on their side, and this case has been successful. This law has been held in every court it's been in so far, Lou.
DOBBS: Casey, thank you very much.
Casey Wian.
And our poll results -- 91 percent of you say the FDA is intentionally failing to release the source of those contaminated tomatoes.
We thank you for being with us tonight. Good night from New York.
The "ELECTION CENTER" with Campbell Brown begins right now -- Campbell.
